Full Moon (Kris Kristofferson Album)

''Full Moon'' is a duet album by Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge, released in September 1973 on A&M Records. It is the first of three duet albums by the couple, who married weeks before the album's release, and arguably the best. Unlike Kristofferson solo albums, it features several covers.

The album was only ever reissued once, on CD in Japan, until an expanded edition was released by Real Gone Music on June 2, 2017.

Background

Only weeks before ''Full Moon''s release, Kristofferson and Coolidge got married. Coolidge had contributed vocals to Kristofferson's previous two albums, including two duets on ''Jesus Was a Capricorn''. At the time Kristofferson was the bigger star, having just topped the country charts with the gospel song "Why Me," and topped the country album charts with its parent album ''Jesus Was a Capricorn''. Coolidge's previous release, 1972's ''The Lady's Not for Sale'', reached number 43 on the U.S. pop charts. (The title track of the album was co-written by Kristofferson.) In 2016 Krisofferson spoke about the album to ''Uncut''s Graeme Thomson:

Since they were on different record labels, Monument and A&M came to an agreement to take turns releasing the album, with Coolidge’s A&M going first with ''Full Moon''.

Recording and composition

''Full Moon'' was produced by Coolidge's producer David Anderle. As noted by William Ruhlmann in his AllMusic review of the album, "Despite Kristofferson's greater celebrity, the LP was made with Coolidge's strengths in mind. David Anderle, its producer, was her producer, and it was released on her record label, A&M. The songs were set in her key, with Kristofferson crooning along in an unusually high register. The tempos were mostly slow, emphasizing the dreamy quality of Coolidge's voice." The pair co-wrote two songs for the LP, which was, unsurprisingly, made up of mostly love songs. Although Kristofferson was the hottest writer in country music in the early seventies, ''Full Moon'' contains material from other writers, including Kristofferson keyboardist Donnie Fritts, Tony Joe White, Larry Murray, and Tom Jans. The album was a departure musically for Kristofferson, whose albums became more polished since his debut, and this trend continued with ''Full Moon'', as noted by biographer Stephen Miller:

The couple would release two more duet albums in 1974 and 1978.

Reception

Buoyed by the news of their wedding and the Caribbean-flavored single "A Song I'd Like to Sing" reaching the U.S. Top 40 pop chart, as well as the country and easy listening charts, ''Full Moon'' became a number one country album. "From the Bottle to the Bottom" won the Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group in 1974.

Track listing

# "Hard to Be Friends" (Larry Murray) – 3:25
# "It's All Over (All Over Again)" (Coolidge, Kristofferson) – 2:45
# "I Never Had It So Good" ( Roger Nichols, Paul Williams) – 4:08
# "From the Bottle to the Bottom" (Kristofferson) – 4:06
# "Take Time to Love" (Donnie Fritts, Tony Joe White) – 2:55
# "Tennessee Blues" ( Bobby Charles) – 5:20
# "Part of Your Life" (Allan Rich, Margaret Ann Rich) – 3:09
# "I'm Down (But I Keep Falling)" (Coolidge, Kristofferson) – 3:08
# "I Heard the Bluebirds Sing" (Hod Pharis) – 2:48
# "After the Fact" ( Stephen Bruton) – 5:05
# " Loving Arms" ( Tom Jans) – 3:50
# "A Song I'd Like to Sing" (Kristofferson) – 4:00

Personnel

*Kris Kristofferson, Rita Coolidge – all vocals
* Michael Utley – keyboards
* Sammy Creason – drums
*Donnie Fritts – keyboards
* Stephen Bruton – guitar
*Terry Paul – bass
* Leland Sklar – bass
*Jerry McGee – guitar, harmonica
* Bobbye Hall – percussion
* David Bromberg – guitar
*Nick DeCaro – accordion
*David Smith – musician
*Gary Scruggs – bass guitar, harmonica
* Randy Scruggs – guitar
* Vassar Clements – fiddle
*Josh Graves – dobro
* Booker T. Jones – keyboards
* Herb Alpert – trumpet
*Strings arranged by David Campbell and Norman Kurban & performed by the Campbell-Kurban String Section

Production

*Produced by David Anderle
*Recorded at Sunset Sound Studios, Los Angeles, California
*Recording engineer: John Haeny
*Mixing engineer: David Anderle
*Mixing assistant: Rick Tarantini
*Mastered at Mastering Lab, by Doug Sax
*Art direction by Roland Young
*Album design by Paula Bard
*All photos by Bob Jenkins

Charts

Certifications and sales

References

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1973 albums
Kris Kristofferson albums
Rita Coolidge albums
Albums arranged by David Campbell (composer)
Albums produced by David Anderle
Albums recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders
A&M Records albums
Vocal duet albums